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Tuesday, 20 November 2012

Lemon polenta cakes

Though there’s
nothing more satisfying than a slice of cake, it’s often excess to need to
make a whole one to entertain just one friend, or two. To counter the temptation to eat
leftovers for breakfast, lunch and tea - not that there’s anything wrong with
that - I (sometimes) scale down the size. Lemon is a favourite flavour of mine in cooking, whether
it’s the kick of the zest in pasta, the combination of the juice with olive oil
in salad dressing or the simplicity of a wedge squeezed onto a slice of grilled
haloumi. And then there’s the
magic that happens when you combine it with sugar. Sweet and sharp is the order of the day. Here, the yellow of the polenta goes
nicely with the colour scheme, and cuts the smooth density of the almond meal
with unexpected texture.
Similarly, the addition of the sugar syrup on top provides a satisfying
crunch. The other obvious
advantage of making smaller cakes is the reduction in cooking time. These can be whipped up without
breaking a sweat in the hour before guests arrive. They’re as good warm as they
are at room temperature or even refrigerated… just in case you do happen to
have one left over to eat the next day.

Lemon polenta cakes

From a Bill Granger recipe in Delicious magazine

These qualify as gluten-free as long as you're careful about which brand of baking powder you use - many you'll find in the supermarket are but some are not so just make sure you read the label carefully first.

Makes 12 (I often
halve the recipe and make 6)

200g unsalted
butter

1 cup caster
sugar

4 eggs

90g polenta

2 teaspoons
baking powder

250g almond meal

2 tablespoons
milk

Finely grated
zest and juice of one lemon

Syrup

1/2 cup caster
sugar

Grated zest and juice
of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to
180 deg C. Line a muffin tray with
muffin cases.

Beat butter and
sugar in an electric mixer until pale.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add polenta
and baking powder, and stir to combine, then the almond meal, milk, lemon zest
and juice. Spoon the mix into
prepared pan, and bake for 20 minutes or until light golden. Cool slightly.

To make syrup,
place sugar, lemon zest and juice in a small saucepan with 2 tablespoons of
water. Stir over low heat to
dissolve the sugar, then increase heat to high and bring to boil. Boil for 3-4 minutes, then remove from
heat. Remove cakes from pan. Brush with hot syrup, then set aside to
cool completely. Store in airtight
container for up to 3 days.